Duel Monster Academy
by Vampiric Dragonrider
Summary: REWRITE! and much better. Jaden Yuki gets accepted into Duel Academy. Little does he know, it's not just open to humans...
1. Welcome Speech

**Dear God! I'm practically shaking in my seat as I post this. Yes, I'm kind of nervous. Ha! I'm such a dork... ^.^**

**Okay. This is the rewrite of Duel Monster Academy (DMA). In this re-issuing, I will not bother with keeping the chapters the same. Which means, you can almost completely disregard the original copy. The base storyline will be the same, but still. So listen, each OC will NOT get two chapters to his or her self, like I did last time. Two chapters are no where near long enough to fall in love. They will each have their moments, but yeah. **

**I respect that these are not my own OCs. However, with your agreement, I now have total control over them. I will stick as close as possible to the descriptions you originally gave me, but if something comes up that is not mentioned, I think I reserve the right to fill in the gap. For example, Leslie might be a bad cook. Alicia might utterly fail at skateboarding. Light might suck at archaeology, damaging everything he finds. You get the picture? So, this is your last chance to say "I don't want you to do that, Vamp!" If you say this, I will run every little thing by you. That might be a lot of Personal Messages, yo, and a lot of time on my part, waiting for you to reply… I don't recommend that. ;)**

**The hardest part of rewriting is wondering where to start. I guess we'll see. Onwards!

* * *

**

The boy called Jaden stood amongst the crowd of students. Why they were all standing, he didn't know. All he knew was that his feet hurt, and he wanted to hurry up and find out where his dorm was so he could go to sleep. His brown eyes tried to peer above the heads of others, but alas, he wasn't the tallest one there.

His new friend stood beside him, even shorter than he was. His friend's poofy, powder blue hair bobbed as he jumped up and down.

"Calm down, Syrus," Jaden told him. "It'll be fine."

"I want to hear this," the boy called Syrus said.

"Well, you'll be able to hear it," Jaden pointed out. "Just because you can't see doesn't mean you can't hear."

It was at this time that it looked like the entire wall in front of them lit up. No, it wasn't the wall. It was just a large screen. The head of a rather large, bald man with a dark brown, short beard and beady – yet friendly – black eyes filled the screen. He smiled warmly down at the students, who were all dressed variously in red, yellow, and blue jackets.

"Welcome to Duel Academy," the man said. "I am Chancellor Sheppard, the head of this school."

Jaden thought he heard someone behind him go "_Tch_" in disbelief.

"It is here that all of you bright, young pupils will learn the art of dueling. While that is the main course of this delicious dish of a school, Mr. Seto Kaiba – the founder of this school – realizes the importance of a good study. Thus, you will take specific dueling courses along with what you'd call normal school classes."

"Oh great," Jaden mumbled. "I have to do math here, too?"

"Now, Duel Academy has the latest technology for your enjoyment. Like the PDAs, which you must carry on yourselves at all time. You all should have received one with your jacket and your duel disk. When you are dismissed, you will use your PDA to find your dorm. I ask that you go directly there and to bed. You will find that the dorms are divided into two different sections. The Day Classes and the Night Classes must always be separated. Just like a boy cannot be in a girl's dorm, a Day Class student cannot be in a Night Class dorm unless escorted by either a teacher like myself or a Prefect."

Jaden yawned. When would this welcome speech be over?

"There are more rules that must be strictly followed," Chancellor Sheppard continued. "For example, Day Class students must be in their dorm room by the time the sun has set. The Night Class students must be in their dorm room by the time the sun rises. The rest of the rule book is available on your PDA. Now, I've kept you here long enough. Off to bed, students. School starts tomorrow. Your schedule is on your PDA, also. Good night."

The screen went blank once more, and the crowd started moving. Syrus was swallowed up, leaving Jaden alone. The brunet shrugged, and started moving along with the flow of the crowd when a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. The surprise touch sent electricity shuddering down his skin. He turned to look over his shoulder, eyes wide with astonishment. What he saw was a tall guy with dark teal hair, narrow teal eyes, and a blue jacket.

"You're Jaden Yuki," he said, matter-of-factly.

"Uh… yeah, that's me," Jaden replied, a little wary. It's not every day a stranger knows your name, after all.

"You'd best be careful around here," the teen said.

"Huh? Why?"

The teen narrowed his eyes. "If you don't know, I can't tell you. But follow the rules, Jaden Yuki, and you won't get hurt."

Jaden wondered if he was being threatened. "Um. Yeah. Okay. So, what's your name again?"

The teen paused, as if contemplating whether to tell him or not. Finally, he said, "My name is Zane. Now go to your dorm." Zane then turned and disappeared into the throng of students, and, despite his large height, Jaden lost sight of him quite quickly.

"Nice disappearing act," Jaden muttered. He let the crowd carry him outside before he took out his PDA. Since he was wearing a red jacket, the hand-held device told him to go to the Slifer Dorm. It looked the farthest away from the main building, too. He sighed. "Looks like I have a long walk ahead of me," he complained to no one in particular.

When he got there, he was a little disappointed. The Slifer Dorm was a small building with puke-yellow walls and a dusty red roof. Though, he admitted, the scenery was kind of nice. Lush green trees surrounded the building, and the building itself was at the edge of a cliff looking out over the ocean, sparkling orange in the setting sun.

His PDA told him his room number, saying that his dorm key was in his room. He reached it and was pleasantly surprised to find that his roommate was none other than Syrus. A few minutes later, both were asleep on the bunk bed. Tomorrow awaits these young duelists. Let us leave them to their sleep.

* * *

**Now seems like a good stopping place. Yes, I am aware it's kind of short. Half of this chapter is Author Notes! But it's necessary.**

**You see, now I've placed the springboard for my rewrite.**

**One last thing. This one eager reviewer had read my the original of this story and wanted to submit an OC. And me, being nice to a fault, couldn't really refuse. The OC, she's not going to play a big role. But, I have a plan for her. The Creator agreed to let me use the OC as a Shadow Fiend (if you're new to reading this, you'll see what they are in some chapters…). I'm using her as a Shadow Fiend because honestly, the last three I had thought up, I weren't too happy with… But yeah.**

**Hope you enjoyed Chapter 1 rewrite.**


	2. New School and New People

**Ah yes. I'm back with Chapter 2 rewrite. I'm stretching out the mystery a bit more, so you won't find out "what" all these people are for another chapter or two. ;)**

**One more thing. A few facts from the old story will have changed. For example, the number of Shadow Fiends. *shrugs* It's what I had to do.**

**I don't do Disclaimers anymore, but I feel like it. So, Jaden, take it away!**

**Jaden:**_** Vampiric Dragonrider only owns this story. Please do not steal her idea. And especially don't steal the OCs! They're not even hers. But if you do steal one, we've got an army of duelists that we're not afraid to put to use.

* * *

**_

_Man!_ Jaden complained silently. _It's the first day, and I'm already running late! Why didn't Syrus wake me!?_ He hopped into his pale blue pants, a granola bar hanging out of his mouth. He shoved his deck into the black plastic holder around his waist, grabbed his bag and slung it over one shoulder. He just barely remembered his PDA as he ran out the door.

Tapping the screen a couple times, he managed to open his schedule on the hand-held device. It told him that his first class was Dueling Techniques, taught by a person named Dr. Crowler. Jaden faintly wondered what Crowler was a doctor of. Didn't they need PhDs, or something? He chomped down on his granola bar, relishing the peanut-y taste.

He raced down the dirt road leading up to the main building. Why did the Slifer dorm have to be so dang far away? It's like they're _trying_ to make the Reds late every day. What a nightmare! He hoped this Crowler-person was a lenient teacher.

The main building's front doors slid open automatically for him. Jaden continued through without slowing down. He was near the room on the schedule when he rounded a corner and knocked into a girl. They both rebounded to the floor.

"Oh, geez!" Jaden exclaimed, flustered. "I'm so sorry!" He got a good look at her. She had strawberry blonde hair that spiked at the ends, cobalt blue eyes, and sun-kissed skin. She wore black dress pants, a green T-shirt, and black sneakers. Jaden could see a bronze heart-shaped locket around her neck, and a dull green ribbon tied around her left wrist.

She rubbed her head, picking up a thin book she had dropped. "Nah, it's okay. I should know better than to cut corners so tightly in a school… Ick, I think someone hexed me. I can't seem to find my way around at the moment." Jaden smiled, stood up, and held out his hand. The girl accepted it, and he helped her to her feet. "You don't happen to be heading to the Dueling Techniques class, do you?"

Jaden nodded. "Actually, I am! I'm Jaden, by the way. Jaden Yuki."

The girl actually looked surprised. "Jaden Yuki? Oh, you're the… um… never mind." She cut herself off. "I'm Leslie. C'mon, we're late. I heard Dr. Crowler is the meanest of them all."

Jaden gave a short laugh. "Just my luck."

* * *

Leslie stood in front of the teen with dark teal hair. It was after the first period, and he was behind a front row desk in an empty classroom.

"Zane," Leslie started. "I met him."

"Jaden?" Zane clarified. She nodded. "Is he still oblivious?"

Leslie nodded again. "Yeah. He's like… he's like a puppy. And… um, I accidentally mentioned I might have been hexed – I had a really bad headache, and my sense of direction was gone – and he didn't even pick _that_ up. But I didn't know it was him…"

Zane sighed. "That's okay. As long as he follows the rules, the students won't be able to harm him."

Leslie wrung her hands together. "But… well, as I said, he's like a puppy. Puppies break rules, you know. What if he goes out at night? What if… Chazz gets a whiff of him?"

Zane sighed again and looked at the blonde. "We'll just have to keep an eye on him." The warning bell rang, a shrill clanging. "Get to your next class, Lez."

"Wait, but what about the other students?"

"They know about him. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

She nodded once more and started to leave, but paused. In a casual voice, she asked, "What about you? Where's _your_ next class?"

He smiled slightly. "I'm a Prefect. They can't do much to me for being a few minutes late.

* * *

Jaden yawned. "Man, was that class boring or what?"

Syrus rolled his eyes. "Jaden, it's necessary. Not only is it teaching us different techniques we could try out, it's telling us how we can figure out the opponent's technique and counter it."

The brunet shrugged. "I thought that that's supposed to come naturally. A duelist is all about thinking on his feet. And that Dr. Crowler's a real mean one."

Syrus actually laughed. "Yeah. You're a few minutes late, and Dr. Crowler gives you a detention! It's so hard to tell what gender he – or she – is, too!"

Jaden snickered. "Heh, yeah. I _think_ it's a 'he.' I mean, he _does_ have a massive Adam's apple."

"Hey, Jay. If I ever grow up to look and sound like that, shoot me, okay?"

"You got it, buddy."

Chuckling, the pair continued on to their next class*. Suddenly, a dark brown cat streaked past them. Syrus had to jerk out of the way as to not step on the feline, causing him to stumble. He would have fallen if Jaden had not grabbed his arm. A young female followed the cat, but stopped near the two boys, panting. It was obvious she had been chasing the cat for a while.

"Alicia…" she moaned, slouching. She had waist-length purple hair that was slightly tangled and a little wild from her race. Her electric blue eyes stared after the cat. She wore a red DA jacket along with a matching red skirt – a Slifer uniform. She glanced around and saw Syrus and Jaden staring at her. She blushed. "O-oh. Hi. Sorry about that. Alicia doesn't like Alch–" She cut off, looking at Syrus, who had, behind Jaden's back, waved his hands in a symbol to stop. "I mean, Alicia doesn't like the cat food I give her. Ugh!" she added for emphasis. She stood up straight. "I'm Shara. You must be Jaden Yuki, am I right?"

Jaden smiled hesitantly. "Y-yeah. Heh, everyone seems to know my name already."

Syrus patted him on the arm once. "Well, you did defeat the Chancellor** in the entry duel," he said, his voice shaking a little. "That'll get you famous in a jiffy."

Jaden glanced strangely at Syrus. It sounded like the blunet had spoken that on the spot. It was a good excuse, the one Syrus gave, but he felt like that wasn't the real reason everyone knew his name. Still, he didn't press.

"So Shara," Jaden said, continuing the conversation. "You don't happen to be heading to Alchemy, with Professor Banner, are you?"

Shara's face lit up. "Actually, I am! I was headed there with a friend, but she decided she was going to skip for today. Can I go with you guys instead?"

Jaden grinned. "Sounds good to me! Let's go!"

* * *

***I am aware that this is technically in Japan, and students in Japan don't change classrooms (the teachers do), but this is easier, and allows for more interaction between students.**

****originally, he defeated Crowler (duh) but I had to change it. I'll have to explain my reasoning later, so I don't spoil anything.  
**

**I actually really want to dissect my own chapter. I've dropped a kajillion hints. Not just hints as to what's really going on at this school, either. Small hints. Mmm…**

**So, you've met two (maybe three ;) ) OCs. And yeah, it's still not the longest thing ever, but it's getting longer! Hope you enjoyed. Cheers!**


	3. Lunchtime

**Yes. Back. Can't think of anything to say right now. So Enjoy.

* * *

**

Jaden stretched, walking out of the Alchemy classroom with Syrus at his side. "Geez, that's a weird class to have at a Dueling School. I'm just glad we don't have any homework yet…"

Syrus couldn't help but yawn a little. "Yeah. We can go to sleep earlier…"

Jaden grinned. "Or we can explore the island!"

The blue-haired boy looked wide-eyed at his friend. "What!? Jaden, we can't do that. We have to be in our dorms by sundown."

The brunet crossed his arms in a pout. "Whaaaaaaat? They're just rules."

Syrus shook his head knowingly. "Jaaaaay. Rules are made for a reason. It's so people don't do stupid things!"

Jaden rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Well, I don't see what's so bad about soaking up some moonlight every once in a while."

"Jaden, if you don't know… well, if you go breaking the rules here, you'll be in danger."

"You know," said Jaden thoughtfully. "You sound like that guy Zane." He heard Syrus suck in a breath sharply. "What?"

"You talked to him?" Syrus asked in a wavering voice.

"Yeah, why?"

"…well, he's my brother."

It was Jaden's turn to gasp. "Really? Can't say I see the family resemblance. You guys couldn't be more different!"

Syrus stared at his shoes. "Y-yeah… He… He didn't want me to come here. He said I'd be destroyed by all the stronger spirits."

Jaden put an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll protect ya."

Syrus smiled softly. "Thanks… but let's drop the subject. He has the habit of showing up when he's talked about."

"Like the devil himself," Jaden sighed jokingly. "Alright. What do we have next?"

Syrus checked his PDA. "Um… it looks like a Dueling class. I heard we just duel the entire period. And then we get lunch."

"Yes!" Jaden cried, punching the air. "I hope they have fried shrimp!"

* * *

Shara scanned the crowd in the hallway, looking for the telltale dark teal hair. Zane had said to report to him what the guy Jaden was up to. She didn't quite know why, but if he said it was important, it must be.

She found him soon enough. He was talking to that girl, what was her name again. Leslie, was it? Shara ran up to Zane and apologized for interrupting. When she bowed respectfully, Zane said, "It's about Jaden, right?"

Shara nodded frantically, standing straight once more. "He's still completely clueless. Alicia almost gave us away."

Zane raised an eyebrow. "What did she do?"

"She just didn't want to go to Alchemy. She went all fussy and ran off."

"Alright," Zane said. "Do you know anyone who shares his next class?"

Shara shrugged. "I don't know his schedule. I can't say. I just hope that blue-haired kid stays with him. He's the one who warned me that the guy was Jaden." She turned to leave to go to her next class when Zane called, "Wait." She looked back.

"Blue-haired kid?" he clarified. "A powder blue? Big gray eyes?"

Shara had to think about that. "Yeah. It was a nice blue. And poofy."

Zane glanced away. "Syrus. It figures. I wouldn't be surprised if they were roommates."

Leslie spoke up. "C'mon, we gotta go. The warning bell's gonna ring."

Zane nodded. To Shara, he said, "You're dismissed." Shara bowed again and ran off.

_That Zane_, she thought. _He can be so weird sometimes.

* * *

_

Jaden was thrilled to find fried shrimp on the lunch menu. He sat in the main building's cafeteria, plate piled high with food. Students only ate lunches in the main building, their dinners and breakfasts being supplied at the dorm. The reason behind this is so that a) more students could interact with each other, and b) it keeps them closer to their classes in the measly 45-minute block of time given to them to eat. Because it takes at least ten minutes to walk from the Slifer Dorm to the main building...

Syrus had to lean to the side to look at Jaden behind a mountain of fried shrimp. "You gonna eat that all?" he asked timidly. His new friend nodded eagerly.

"I wuv shwim!" he said through a mouthful of the fried sea food.

"You're gonna get a stomach ache later," Syrus warned, "if you eat all that at the speed you're going now."

Jaden swallowed his mouthful with a gigantic gulp, and Syrus thought he could see it travel down the brunet's throat. "Don't worry, Sy! I've got an iron stomach."

Syrus sighed and leaned back. "Don't say I didn't warn ya…"

Someone slammed down a rather large textbook next to Syrus, making them both – and the pile of fried shrimp – jump. That person sat down and said, bluntly, "Hi."

"Oh," Syrus said, recognizing the person. "You're Leslie. We met you earlier."

Leslie brushed a lock of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and peered at both of them. "Oh yes. I came to say hello."

Jaden consumed another mouthful of shrimp and grinned at her. "It's nice to see you again!" he told her. "I wish you were in my previous class. I'd've liked to duel you!"

Leslie tilted her head. "Hmm? Why?"

He held up a shrimp and pointed it at her like a wizard's wand. "The fastest way to get to know a person is through dueling 'em. Your true personality comes out in a duel."

She thought about that for a second. "In a way, you're right. I can totally see where you're coming from."

Suddenly, Syrus stiffened. A shadow fell over him and Leslie. The shadow said, "Enjoying yourself, Leslie?"

Instead of turning around and looking up like an average person, Leslie simply leaned back to stare up into Zane's face. "Very much so," she said with a grin. She giggled a little. "By the way, you look kinda funny upside down."

Zane coolly raised an eyebrow. "And you look utterly bizarre." Leslie giggled a little bit more and finally turned around on the lunch table's bench to face the tall teen normally. Zane looked up to stare at Jaden over the diminishing pile of food. He completely ignored Syrus. "Having a good first day, I presume?"

Syrus spoke up with a hard edge to his voice. "Oh, he's having a _fine_ day. I am, too, thanks for asking. I don't need to ask _you_ to know you're having just a _fine_ day, too."

Zane didn't reply. Instead he closed his eyes, sighed sadly, turned around, and walked away. Leslie twisted around and gave Jaden a peace sign with her two fingers. "Nice seein' ya again. I'm gonna go join Zane. Bye!" She leapt up and ran after the tall retreating figure.

Jaden looked soberly at Syrus, forgetting his plate of food. "You guys really have it rough," he said.

Syrus refused to meet his gaze. "You could say that."

* * *

**Yaaaaaaaaaaa, I'm gonna end it there. **

**If you're reading this, and you're one of the people who contributed an OC, and you're wondering where the HECK they are… trust me, they're coming. I'm making it natural for them to appear, so that they can be more memorable, and all that jazz. **

**There are like, nooooo similarities between this story and the original so far… which is, I guess, a good thing. And I'm trying to make the chapters progressively longer, but it can be difficult. Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed it.**


	4. Why You Don't Go Out At Night

**Take it away, Leslie!**

**Leslie: Hmm?**

**Oh, you know. Say the disclaimer.**

**Leslie: Why?**

**... Oh, nevermind...

* * *

  
**

Night draped its sleepy blanket across Duel Academy. Trees started whispering, and the small ocean waves whispered back. The darkness brought on an eerie quiescence that is unique to night. With all the nightly sounds, there was still a pounding silence. It was almost like a dream, where you can't actually hear sounds, but your brain supplies it to you. So you were hearing it, but you weren't hearing it at the same time.

Night came too soon for Jaden. He didn't want his first day to end. More than that, he wanted to duel people on his own time! With people he didn't have that class with (and he did like that dueling class)! He wanted to duel Syrus, if only a friendly game without duel disks, but the blue-haired boy refused. Said something on how he (He, Jaden! Who beat everyone in class today!) would lose. He didn't know what to make of that. After all, if Zane, older brother of Syrus, said that the short boy was too weak to be at Duel Academy, where did that place Jaden? The brunet was so very confused…

And he desperately wanted to go on a walk. If only to clear his head, if only to explore a little and see what the island looks like while cloaked in shadows. But Syrus had flat-out rejected that idea, saying it was against the rules. When Jaden complained, Syrus reminded him that the rules were there for a reason. And when Jaden asked what the reason was, Syrus, sounding oh-so like everyone else, told him that if he didn't' know, he couldn't tell him.

It was very frustrating.

So, Jaden waited until Syrus was asleep. Hoping the blunet was a sound sleeper, he inched the door open while praying the hinges wouldn't decide to creak at this time. He crept outside, greeting the cool night breeze with a smile. However, the murmur of two voices drew his attention. He followed the sound, taking light steps, and peered around the corner of the school.

It was a boy and a girl, talking in low, rushed voices. The boy seemed agitated about something, while the girl appeared defiant and stubborn. With the moon shedding buckets of silver light, Jaden was able to see almost every detail of these two people. The guy was quite tall, with a height to rival Zane's. His skin was tan, and his hair was a strange white color. Jaden couldn't see the color of his eyes, but from the way they flashed in the moonlight, he guessed they were blue. He was wearing a black trench coat with something white underneath. He also appeared to be wearing a necklace with two objects on it: a dragon and some type of bird.

The girl was shorter, with dirty blonde hair. She appeared to be wearing a dark blue T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. Her back was the Jaden, so he couldn't see her face, but he thought she looked familiar… She had taken a firm stance, almost as if ready for a fight.

Jaden leaned forward a little, trying to hear the voices. He thought he could pick up what they were saying.

"You can't go around at night!" the guy was chastising. "You know this!"

"I'll do what I want," the girl replied. Jaden thought he recognized her voice. Where did he hear it before? "You can't stop me, Light. I don't care if you're the Night Prefect's right hand man."

The boy named Light bristled visibly, but somehow kept his calm. "Kris," he said coolly. "Go back to your dorm room."

It hit him then, why Jaden had thought he recognized the girl. He did! He knew her! "Kris!" he called out, before clapping his jaws shut. _Idiot! _he told himself. _You're not supposed to let people know you're out at night!_

The girl whirled around, revealing bi-colored eyes – one green, one blue. Surprise was written on both hers and Light's faces as they stared at Jaden.

"Jaden!?" she shrieked. "What are you doing here!?"

Jaden jumped down the steps of the dorm building. There was no point in hiding behind a wall now. "I should be asking you the same question," he said back. "What of… you know. What of _it_?"

Kris's eyes flashed, but she took a deep breath. Jaden knew it was difficult to make Kris angry, but when she did, it took a while for her to calm down. Jaden knew, because she had moved to his town last year, and they had become fast friends. "You don't know what's going on here, do you," she said, almost accusingly. "Why are you here?"

Light stepped in, feeling it was his duty to do so. "I know who you are!" he said. "Jaden Yuki! You really should go back to your dorm room. It's not safe at night for you." As if in answer, a wolf's howl pierced through the darkness.

"Shut up, Light," Kris said dismissively. "Go fly back to your Prefect buddy."

Light frowned. "Kris… you'll get in trouble, too," he pointed out. "You know, you should really think about that proposal. About joining the Night Class, instead of continuing with the Day Class. It could give you a lot more freedom, you know."

Kris glared at him. "Light, go away!" She grabbed Jaden's arm and dragged him back to the dorm building, stopping under the eaves where it was shrouded in shadows. "Why are you here?" she hissed. "You shouldn't be here!"

"I should be asking you that!" Jaden whispered back. "What about your secret!?"

Kris glared at him. "You have no idea what's going on here, do you." She said it like a fact, and it really was. Jaden knew it was true not only because people have been telling him that for the past two days, but because he knew she was a bad liar.

"So then tell me," Jaden insisted. "Why isn't anyone telling me?"

She sighed. "If you want the real reason, it's because we aren't allowed to tell. We… we can't. Well, we could, but we'd get in humongous trouble."

"But if you show me," he persisted, "I could figure it out."

"No, Jaden, that's basically telling…"

"Just tell me!"

"No!"

"Please?"

"I can't!"

Two small _pops_ drew their attention away from each other. They snapped their heads towards the sound. What they saw surprised them. Zane and Leslie, emerging from the darkness under the trees. It wasn't all that far away, so the two reached Jaden and Kris soon enough.

Zane crossed his arms. "I think it's time you know," he said.

Light, who was still there, unnoticed, spoke up. "Zane! What are you doing?"

Zane glanced at the white-haired kid. "Light, how nice to… see you." He said it without any pleasantries. "But, I have decided that ignorance is not best for Jaden now."

Leslie raised her hand slightly. "I second that," she said. "Ignorance is not bliss in this case!"

"Jaden," said Zane, facing the brunet squarely. "We… are monsters."

* * *

The teenage boy landed silently on the ground outside his window. It was time to do his rounds. The sun had set about an hour ago or so. He wasn't usually this late, but since it was only the second night, he decided he was going to be lenient for once. Only a little.

He was a guy perfectly suited to blend in with the night. He had black hair with large spikes, narrow black eyes, and preferred to wear a long black jacket. The only thing _wasn't_ suited to the night was his skin, pale as the moon. The blood red waxing crescent moon necklace swung on its thick string slightly as he stood up.

He sniffed the air a bit, eyes flashing red as he caught the scent of someone. He frowned. This scent stood out more than the others to him… but he decided to ignore it. It was probably nothing. He occasionally got scents like that that turned out to be nothing.

His feet made no sound as he trod towards the trees. As soon as he entered the shadows, the darkness swallowed him up. He was more or less invisible.

* * *

The boy was taking this better than he expected, Zane admitted to himself. Jaden had not screamed, fainted, or run off. His mouth had simply fallen open, eyes gone wide, as he looked from Kris to Light to Zane and Leslie.

"M-monsters?" he finally clarified in a slightly shaky voice. "Like… monsters?"

"Monster is actually a general term," Leslie piped up. "It just means anything that's not human. Or, at least, not completely human." Zane nodded in agreement. Truth be told, he didn't like being referred to as a monster, but being what he was, he might as well be. Not in a negative sense, but in a group sense.

"But… well, I know why _Kris_ looks human," Jaden said, the shakiness of his voice leaving inch by inch. "But why do… what are you guys, anyway?"

Zane glanced sideways at Leslie, who flashed a grin at him. It was time for a little show. He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. A small flame sprouted, flickering bravely on his thumb but not hurting him in the least. Leslie cupped a loose fist to her mouth and blew into it, causing a golden light to glow briefly between her fingers. When she opened her first, a glowing, pure gold butterfly slowly flapped its wings and flew up a little before collapsing into dust.

Jaden was speechless… for about a second. "That was so cool!" he breathed. "What was that?"

"Magic," Zane said simply.

"Are all of you wizards?"

Light snorted. "Heck no," he said.

Zane interrupted Light before he could say anything else. "Duel Academy is a dueling school, yes, but it doubles as a place where creatures learn to act like a human and blend in with humans."

Jaden nodded in understanding. "So where does that place me?" he asked.

"Actually, we don't really know…" Leslie admitted. "The Chancellor had doubts about letting you into this school, so he dueled you himself. You're a strong duelist, there's no doubt about that, but…"

"There's a reason there's a Night Class," Zane continued. "You could say the Night Class is full of… hunters. Which is why it's dangerous for you to be out at night. Many of the Night students hunger for human blood."

Jaden paled visibly. It's not every day you're told you're unknowingly hunted and hungered for. "I… I think I'll go back to my dorm now…"

Light laughed. "Smartest thing I've heard you say," he sniggered. "I have to finish my rounds," he added to Zane. "Lock him in, or something." With that, the white-haired boy dashed for the trees. Zane looked at Jaden and raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt I'll have to lock you in," he said neutrally. "But you should really go." Jaden nodded eagerly and disappeared back to the dorm. When they heard his door shut, he turned his attention back to Kris. "You'd really be better off in the Night Class," he told her.

Kris narrowed her eyes. "I'm staying in the Day Class," she stated firmly. She turned on her heel and, too, headed back towards the Slifer Dorm. Zane let her go. Somewhere in the forest, a wolf howled.

* * *

**I tried to keep everyone, OCs and anime characters, in character. I tried. They might not be. But remember, some of the anime characters' personalities have been changed to better suit the story and their monster. Though, I've taken some aspects from the manga, if you've read it. But the personalities are mostly the same. And it IS AU. **

**And also, I'm a little uncertain about how the whole showdown with all the talking and stuff went. Unveilings always tend to be hard... Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed. Cheers!  
**


	5. Bad News For Leslie

**You might be wondering why a bunch of the OCs tend to know the anime characters so well. I've got my reasons, and I shall tell you briefly without giving anything dynamic away.**

**Leslie knows Zane not only because they have been friends for a while, but because Leslie is like the right-hand man – er, woman – to him, being the Day Prefect. So, while she has official status (and therefore can go places other students can't), she cannot escort anyone where they're not allowed to be on their own. She does not have full Prefect power, in other words.**

**Kris knows Jaden because they were friends in the last town she moved. Her past is… mysterious. Jaden knows the most about her, but even he is kept in the dark about a few things. And she kinda-sorta knows Light, Zane, and Leslie because she's attending Duel Academy for… ah, how should I put this… special circumstances. Light knows because he is the "right-hand man" to the Night Prefect (which, by the way, you might be able to guess who it is.) and the Prefects know of her circumstance (although, you might find that the Night Prefect isn't as informed as he could be…) So it only makes sense that the right-hand man knows too. Oh, and Jaden knows of her circumstance too, but only kinda-sorta. Meaning he knows the basis of it, but doesn't know the ENTIRE reason. If that makes sense.**

**I think that sums up the OCs you've seen so far… On with the story!

* * *

**

_Last time: We meet Kris and Light, two of our OCs. Jaden discovers that at this academy, the students are not all humans…

* * *

_

When Jaden had re-entered his dorm room, Syrus had been awake and furious. Well, perhaps furious is the wrong word to describe him. Syrus had been frantic and anxious, pacing the room with his hands entangled in his poofy blue hair. Jaden had explained what happened, and Syrus had calmed down somewhat, but was still a bit mad at Jaden for leaving.

Even so, now about a week or two later, the blunet shook his friend awake in plenty of time to get up and ready for their classes. Jaden wriggled into his clothes and dashed outside. However, he skidded to a stop when he saw an oddly colored cat walking along the guard railing outside his dorm room. It was a familiar color purple, with electric blue-tipped ears and tail. Halfway up the tail, a white bandage was tied with a neat bow. Jaden tilted his head at it, feeling like he knew it.

If cats could look surprised, this one did. Its blue eyes widened, and it tried to escape. Jaden quickly grabbed it around the torso and held it. "Hold on, little kitty," he told it.

"Let me go!" it said in a familiar female voice. Surprised, Jaden dropped it. Syrus appeared out of the room behind him.

"Hn?" Syrus mumbled a bit. "Shara, is that you?"

The cat landed on its – her – feet and sat down to look up at Jaden and Syrus. "Uh, uh, uh, I do not know this Shara of which you speak," she said hurriedly. "I'm just a normal, talking cat…"

"It's okay," Syrus told her, cutting her off. "He knows."

"Oh!" Shara said, relief flooding her voice. She stared at Jaden. "So yeah… I'm a cat. Well, technically, I'm called a neko, which is really just a cat with human intelligence…"

Syrus tugged on Jaden's jacket. "Jay," he said with warning, "we gotta get going. Crowler hates you enough as it is."

"Heh, yeah," the brunet agreed. He waved to the purple cat. "See ya second period, Shara!" The cat, in reply, lifted up a paw next to her cheek.

* * *

Leslie sat on her bed, her strawberry blonde hair framing her light tan skin as she stared intently at the laptop screen. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, making delightful tapping sounds in a flurry. She knew what time it was. She knew she was probably going to be late to class. She knew she didn't care.

Writing is a type of escape. Leslie desperately needed to escape at this moment. A crumpled piece of parchment lay next to her on the bed, detailing the cause of her distress. She only looked up when there was a knock on her door.

"Leslie," came the deep voice of Zane. Don't worry. As a Prefect, he's allowed in the girl's dorm. "Leslie, what's up?" When she didn't answer, she heard her door slowly creak open. "Leslie…" He maneuvered between piles of books and papers on the floor, careful not to step on anything. He sank onto the bed next to the blonde and tenderly – if not a little awkwardly – put a hand on her back.

She didn't speak. She couldn't speak.

Zane picked up the parchment and smoothed it on his lap, eyes skimming it over. A few seconds passed. "Leslie… I'm so sorry."

The note read: _Dear Leslie,_

_I am sorry to inform you that your mother has recently… passed on. Although, I think if _you _hadn't _left_, we wouldn't be in this mess. So, I'm coming to take you home, and you're never going back to that stupid, rotten duel school._

_Love,_

_Aunt Allura

* * *

_

Dr. Crowler read from his list of names to take attendance. A few names in, he called, "Johnson, Leslie." There was no reply. "Leslie!" he snapped, scanning the sea of faces. "Where is the little witch?" That remark was met by a few giggles. Crowler's purple lips twitched in frustration. "Shut up, all of you! Where is she?"

Suddenly, a paper bird flew into the room, its wings making crinkling noises as it flapped. It fluttered around for a while before crash-landing into Crowler's blond head. As the class giggled once more, Crowler ripped the bird from his head, unfolding the paper. His eyes skimmed the paper before he sighed.

"Looks like Leslie is excused from class," he said, before continuing on with roll call.

Jaden turned to Syrus. "What do you think is wrong with Leslie…?"

Syrus shook his head. "I have no idea. I don't know her that well. Not as well as Zane, anyway. I'm betting he sent the message, or else Crowler wouldn't like it."

Jaden frowned. "I hope she's okay…"

"Me too. She seemed nice."

* * *

The last bell of the day rang shrilly, and Syrus and Jaden followed the crowd out of their last class. There had been no sign of Leslie _or_ Zane today. They assumed Zane was with her, but they couldn't be sure. And so, with nothing better to do, the two of them started for the Red Dorm.

However, on their way they noticed a lot of people headed towards the docks. Curious, they followed the stream of students.

Down at the docks, the students made a sort of half circle, coming close to the actual docks but not going on it. They were murmuring amongst themselves. Out actually on the docks Jaden and Syrus could see two figures standing side by side, looking out to the ocean. The figures could only be Leslie and Zane.

Jaden grinned. "All right! We gotta go see Leslie."

Syrus nodded. He didn't want to be too close to his brother, but he did like Leslie. And besides that, Jaden would be with him. "Right. She's been gone all day… I feel obligated to check up on her." The two ran the rest of the way to the docks, pushing their way through the crowd. They finally broke through it and rushed up to Leslie and Zane.

"Hey, you two," Jaden started. The two magic users turned to look at him stoically. Leslie looked like she had been crying, her eyes red. "Mind telling me what's going on…?"

Leslie shook her head and leaned into Zane, who put his arm around her. The wizard handed Jaden a parchment letter in silence. Jaden read it over, Syrus reading over his shoulder. Once finished, they looked up back at Leslie. "That's so mean of her!" Jaden exclaimed. "How could your aunt do something like that?"

"Yeah, she has no right to just take you away from Duel Academy!" Syrus added.

Zane pointed out to the distance over the sea. "Here she comes," he said.

Out in the distance, they could all see a speck that was swiftly growing bigger. Behind the speck, storm clouds raced like a billowing cape. As the speck came closer, they could see it was a woman on a motorboat. Closer still, they could see details. The woman was wearing billowing black robes. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but strands of hair had pulled loose in the wind. Her eyes were chocolate brown and narrowed in fury. Her skin was of a tan color similar to Leslie's.

This was Aunt Allura.

* * *

**I'll end it there. I hope you enjoyed this! Some parts were a little difficult to get out of me… Well, as you can see, I'm keeping some elements of the old story that don't necessarily contribute to the main plot. Cuz I like them… **

**Well there ya go. Don't forget to review, please!**


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